Drake’s Take: New Releases 10.05.10

It’s a bit of a grab bag for new releases this week, but I can’t say I’m surprised that Drake singled out one of Olympia, WA’s favorite daughters for a featured review. -ed.

Drake’s Take: New Releases 10.05.10

September was a great month for releases, but the back-to-school rush slows down now, eventually turning into a trickle by mid-November. Highlights this week include the debut from Sleater-Kinney’s Corin Tucker and the latest from Clinic, Marnie Stern, Tom Ze, The Gay Blades, Tim Kasher, Tricky, Owen, Guster, Fran Healy, a collaboration between Ben Harper, Joseph Arthur and George Harrison’s son Dhani (Fistful of Mercy), an EP from British Sea Power and a slew of reissues of John Lennon.

When Sleater-Kinney ended their run back in 2006, it was on the heels of their loudest effort in their long career, 2005’s The Woods, so in a sense, they went out with some serious fireworks. Fast-forward four plus years and singer Corin Tucker has had another kid and settled down to domestic life in Portland with her husband (director Lance Bangs). While it hasn’t been 1,000 Years since Tucker was a figurehead in the Riot Grrrl movement, it can feel like it at times based on this solo debut. Besides being a bit quieter of an affair, the lyrical content deals with domestic life, and it can feel a little weird at times remembering the ferocity of her past. For just about anyone else, this would be a fine debut, but knowing Tucker’s past, it can feel half-baked and lacking fire. Still, it serves as a welcome return of an old friend.

Early in their career, Liverpool’s Clinic figured out their sound — mush-mouthed pyschedelic-tinged post-punk — and have pretty much stuck to it through six albums now, including Bubblegum. Sure, opener “I’m Aware” has Ade Blackburn enunciating and there’s some rather lush orchestration, but that turns out to be a bit of a red herring as the rest of the album sticks pretty closely to the tried and true Clinic template. And that’s not a bad thing, as they do what they do so well. The only other cut that strays from the path, the pounding and distorted “Lion Tamer,” turns out to be another highlight by itself, giving the album a much needed boost midway through.